An experimental and computational study on the feasibility of bio-dielectrics for sustainable electrical discharge machining

• Published in: Journal of manufacturing processes Vol. 41; pp. 284 - 296
• Main Authors: Das, Shirsendu, Paul, Swarup, Doloi, Biswanath
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2019
• Subjects: Bio-dielectrics; Computational fluidics; Crater geometry; HAZ; Surface roughness; HAZ; Computational fluidics; TW; Bio-dielectrics; BHN; SEM; Crater geometry; Surface roughness; MRR; EDM; SR
• ISSN: 1526-6125; 2212-4616
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmapro.2019.04.005

This article deeply focused on the sustainability issues of EDM and evaluated the feasibility of transesterified jatropha, canola and neem oil as an alternative of conventional kerosene. Therefore these bio dielectrics are judged in terms of removal rate, surface integrities, taper cut and overcut under various ranges of process parameters and flushing velocities. More over computational fluidics and electro thermal modeling are also used to investigate the heat dissipation patterns and crater formations of both conventional (kerosene) and bio dielectrics under various flushing velocity. It is observed that all the bio dielectrics ensure better MRR and less SR than kerosene but out of them the performances of jatropha and canola are remarkable in so far MRR and SR are concerned. The obtained results indicate that due to less axial and wider radial extension of the developed crater the neem dielectric exhibits 18% more overcut and 40% more tapper cut than kerosene and on the other hand canola ensures 12% less SR because of the same reason. But the developed surfaces subject more heat affected zone and thermal cracks because of poor heat dissipation rate, higher viscosity and less flowability of the bio dielectrics. Moreover these bio dielectrics do not exhibit impressive MRR at low flushing velocity (< 0.27 m/ sec) so a specific range of flushing velocity (0.30 m/sec to 0.40 m/sec) is recommended to obtain satisfactory responses and then only the tested bio dielectrics can be prioritized as a reliable dielectric for sustainable EDM operation.